>> gio benitez with us tonight, as well. gio, thank you. so, let's break this down, when we think this is going to hit, shifting as we get closer. abc's senior meteorologist rob marciano live tonight in wrightsville beach, north carolina. rob, take us through the track. >> reporter: all right, well, the track hasn't changed a whole lot, david. but the timing has. now not expected to arrive until friday. even though it's under 800 miles away and moving this direction at 17 miles per hour. it will slow down eventually. let's break it down. 140-mile-an-hour winds. tomorrow, could become a category 5 storm, albeit briefly, we are on strengthening mode, it is getting bigger, the wind field is huge. as it approaches, it's going to hit that blocking high, going to slow things down and that's not necessarily good news. but it brings it in on friday. the worst of the weather will be from 8:00 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon. hurricane warnings are posted. storm surge, up to 13 feet in spots. and beyond that, the rainfall inland is going to b

>> gio benitez with us tonight, as well. gio, thank you. >>> and president trump joining forces with governors and officials on the ground here, warning people in the storm zone to be prepared and to be safe. and reassuring them that the government is ready to help, that the government is fully prepared. at the same time, the president taking time to trade insults with the mayor of san juan, puerto rico, over last year's hurricane maria response. here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: president trump today tweeting out this urgent warning to those in the path of hurricane florence. >> get out of its way. don't play games with it. it's a big one. it's called mother nature. you never know, but we know. we love you all. we want you safe. >> reporter: it comes as the president continues to give himself rave reviews for his handling of puerto rico's devastating hurricane maria. >> puerto rico was an incredible, unsung success. >> reporter: the reality? maria was the deadliest hurricane in

gio benitez with us tonight. you met families there doing what they can, obviously to secure their homes and now they're getting out, worried about the low-lying areas? >> reporter: yeah, that's right, david. they are taking this very, very seriously. mandatory evacuations are under way right now for both residents and visitors. and i want to show you the view from the air right now. our drone cam, because this is what residents are really concerned about. those low-lying areas, all of this water here in this area. this storm surge could be devastating. david? >> gio benitez with us tonight, as well. gio, thank you. let's break this down, when we think this is going to hit, shifting as we get closer. rob marciano live tonight in wrightsville beach, fk north carolina. take us through the track. >> reporter: the track hasn't changed a whole lot, david. but the timing has. now not expected to arrive until friday. even though it's under 800 miles away and moving this direction at 17 miles per hour. it will slow down

>> gio benitez, thank you. >>> here in wilmington, the discovery as we drove through neighborhoods today. so much destruction, the trees down. and in one case, a heartbreaking discovery. the frantic effort tonight to rescue those in florence's path. first responders out at daybreak after the hurricane first began battering the coast. here in wilmington, neighbors holding each other. a tree falling onto this home. firefighters race to rescue the three trapped inside. the mother and daughter did not get out. the father rushed to the hospital. the fire chief telling us they had to cut through the tree to get to the family. >> these firefighters were out here during the height of this storm working this rescue, basically. very, very difficult. >> reporter: kneeling in prayer amid the horror they had discovered. hurricane force winds at florence slammed into the coast, making landfall as we were on the air. you can see the winds are just ferocious right now. wind gusts reported up to 97 miles per hour right on the coast. wind gusts at the airport reaching 105 miles per hour. the highest recor

>> gio benitez, thank you. >>> now to the political storm brewing on capitol hill. senate con fir maugs hearings for the president's supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh get under way tomorrow morning. he's been preparing for days, and so have the senators who will question him. these boxes are full of documents supporting his nomination, but it is the thousands of other documents that will not be made public that are causing an uproar. and the hearings come as the president once again took aim at his own top justice official, attorney general jeff sessions. abc's kyra phillips from capitol hill tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the stakes couldn't be higher, and judge brett kavanaugh knows it, completing at least two full-day mock hearings, peppered with interruptions by fake protesters. and democrats are making it clear, they will not two easy on the president's supreme court nominee. now accusing the white house of withholding key information after the trump administration invoked executive privilege, blocking access to 100,000 panels of documents from cave nau's t

gio benitez leads us off. >> reporter: tonight, what look like river rapids.ater rushing through this pennsylvania neighborhood. torrential rain falling in sheets, soaking parts of the state. >> unbelievable. >> reporter: a flash flood emergency in lancaster. nearly ten inches falling there in just four hours. snarling holiday travel by road, and by rail. a passenger showing us how this amtrak train came to a screeching halt. car after car submerged. several motorists having to be rescued, including children on this school bus. >> i'm really, really afraid. >> reporter: water nearly up to the windows of this restaurant in reading. extreme weather from minnesota to maryland. more than 9 million at risk to start the holiday weekend. in wisconsin, the cleanup just beginning. the flooding destroying this family's home. >> we're just kind of in a shell shock right now. >> reporter: after a days-long deluge left some towns underwater earlier this week. and, tom, heavy rains may keep falling on parts of the east over the next several days potentially threatening a wa

>> gio benitez with us tonight. gio, thank you. >>> here in wilmington, the discovery as we drove through neighborhoods today. so much destruction, the trees down. and in one case, a heartbreaking discovery. the frantic effort under way tonight to rescue those in the path of florence. first responders out at daybreak after the hurricane first began battering the coast. here in wilmington, neighbors holding one another after a massive tree came crashing down on a young family's home. firefighters race to rescue the three trapped inside. the mother and infant did not get out. they struggled to get the father out, managing to free him. he's rushed to the hospital. the fire chief telling us they had to cut through the tree to get to the family. >> these firefighters were out here in the height of the storm working this rescue, basically. very, very difficult. >> reporter: firefighters and first responders outside the home, kneeling in prayer amid the horror they had discovered. it all began in the early morning hours. h

>> gio benitez with us from new york. gio, thank you. >>> and there was a senate hearing today about foreigned adversaries and their influence on social media here in this country, especially targeting u.s. elections. facebook coo sheryl sandberg and twitter ceo jack dorsey answering questions today, are they prepared and what are they doing now? >> we were too slow to spot this and too slow to act. we are more determined than our opponents and we are keep fighting. >> reporter: both say they are shutting down phony accounts by the millions. not at the hearing today, google. their seat empty because the committee refused to hear from anyone other than one of their two top executives. >>> there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. the warning about a popular cereal. new cases of salmonella being reported tonight. >>> also, the pickup truck driver slamming into a tv station during a live news cast. the emergenha owedt wearned tonight. >>> also, the new nike ad featuring colin kaepernick is out to

let's get right to abc's gio benitez, some 200 miles north here on the beach in kitty hawk for us, already feeling the storm's wrath tonight. gio? >> reporter: david, good evening. we've been feeling the strong winds all day long. take a look at kitty hawk peeie. you can see massive waves crashing against it. this is just the beginning. tonight, florence's fury blasting the north carolina coast. winds churning up the sea. waves crashing over the dunes and into the streets. the sandbags stacked along the shore to hold the water back no match for a life-threatening storm surge already flooding homes and streets in the outer banks. the storm's wrath building by the hour, shredding that flag in cape fear. it's 4:00 and we're here in nags head, north carolina. those powerful outer bands are moving through right now. we are getting that rain, and just take a look at those massive waves. the wind is just getting stronger and stronger. dangerous winds threatening millions tonight. hurricane-force ones stretching across 160 miles. tropical storm-force winds across 330 miles. tonight, officials with

kitty, hawk, north carolina where gio benitez is there feeling strong winds. gio. >> reporter: we are still feeling some of those strong winds, want to step out of the camera. let's see if we could zoom in so you could see what's happening here. because that is what we were still experiencing here, all those very vicious waves almost and we've been looking at that for hours upon hours for the past 24 hours, in fact. let's take a look because i think we have some video of what we were experiencing just hours s gh a you canre reporting for e osee jus ttier and the outer banks and that's what they're concerned about because they're concerned about looking at those waves and saying, wait a minute, is this going to cause a very dangerous storm surge here on this island? if you're not familiar with the outer banks, it is a very thin stretch of land and it floods very, very easily and so that is still a concern right now because even though it appears we are out of the rain portion we're still getting some outer bands right now, we are not out of the wind portion bec

thanks to gio benitez in kitty hawk, north carolina. we want to get on the phone. with us the field meteorologist and storm chaser brett adair who is in wilmington right now and just back from topsail beach. what were the situations as you traveled from topsail to wilmington? >> well, guys, we were in topsail yesterday afternoon really during that first high tide before any of these big bands came in. we already started seeing some storm surge damage during high tide and saw some walls being knocked out of the rear of homes and garage doors knocked out, so the second tide cycle that just passed, you know, i can only imagine what daybreak hits what we'll see, however, the conditions here in wilmington are going downhill really quickly. we are now back at our hotel. we are on emergency backup power which has lights and only dealt with some signal issue, obviously our networks dealing with a lot of power flashes and such here in downtown wilmington now. >> and, brett, talk a little bit more about those conditions you're seeing there in wilmington. we're looking at som

body, benitez hernÁndez is in the u.s. and out on parole at the time of the murder, he has pleaded not guilty. israel is praising the u.s. for cutting funding for palestinian refugees, prime minister benjamin netanyahu supporting decision to suspend $350 million to the united nations relief and aid agency, the u.s. says it's no longer willing to shoulder a disproportionate cost, suspending $300 million in military aid to pakistan for not doing enough to root outer risks, secretary of state mike pompeo will visit pakistan on wednesday. president trump praising tiger woods after the golf legend defended him during interview. >> he's the president of the united states and you to respect the office and no matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike, personality or the politics, but we must all respect office. jillian: showed class, now they say the so-called left is angry at him. the fact is that african-un-american unemployment is the lowest in the history of our country, the democrats have been all talk and no action,

abc news reporter gio benitez.iphone we had ever created. >> apple recently unveiling three new iphones and some of the most impressive technology yet. >> it's the best camera we've ever shown before. >> on tuesday, tim cook gave robin a preview of the upgrades. >> this is an emoji going on sale in stores tomorrow. the iphone 10s. extended battery life. a larger version. the iphone 10s max with a 6.5-inch display, the biggest screen yet. the third new model going on sale in october. a slightly less expensive that comes in a range of colors, the 10r. if you want one of these toys, how can you get the most money for your old iphone? >> once apple announces a new the value of the oileder model does drop pretty fast. >> bridgett carry, senior editor at c net tracking prices for us on two old iphones before the big reveal last week and after the announcement to see how much she could get. she entered the info on four different retail sites. >> that's the best price. >> before apple's announcement she received the highes

. >> reporter: a year ago, as hurricane maria closed in, carlos benitez says he was the last helicopterfrantic mission. >> my cell phone never stopped ringing, you know. >> reporter: at that point, did you think it was life or death? >> it was life or death. >> reporter: the monster storm left the island under water and without power. but risking his own safety, carlos got back in the air. there was no air traffic control? >> no air traffic coal. -- control. >> reporter: you feel like you were all alone out here? >> i feel like we were in another world. >> reporter: he rushed food, supplies and medicine to remote areas, evacuating sick patients. now he's returning with us to that same area for the first time. how does it feel to know that some of these people right here might have survived because of you? >> well, blessed. generatorr: in the distance, he brought them. one year later, the power of maria is still overwhelming. >> just give me a second. i feel blessed that i had the opportunity to give everything that i had in my heart. i think hurricane maria made everybody stronger. hurr

here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: summer's unofficial shopping weekend is here, packed with labor day deals. >> labor day deals start right now. come in today and save up to 40%. >> reporter: home depot and best buy offering up to 40% off certain appliances. outdoor furniture is up to 50% off at lowe's. and at is for sale. >> the reason why stores are clearing out merchandise now, they want to make room for new fall merchandise. the old summer stuff will go away, and the new fall merchandise is going to come in. >> reporter: mattresses deeply discounted. 50% to 60% off at seres. and at jcpenney, up to 60% off. and, considering a last-minute getaway? hotels.com is offering up to 40% off your booking. emirates offering round-trip flights from new york to milan for $549. and now might also be a good time to upgrade your phone. sprint offering 50% off a new samsung galaxy note 9. and up to $200 off select iphones at best buy. if you're buying clothes, the best deals are on summer merchandise. you may want to wait before you buy any coats. those sales come later. and this is a good tim

more from gio benitez. >> reporter: initial reports of more than 100 sick passengers on board. >> noe traveling from dubai to jfk met by police and cdc officials. the plane kept away from the terminal while the mystery illness was investigated. vanilla ice on board too, posting these images. three passengers and seven crew members sent to the hospital. medical personnel taking each passenger's temperature. were you concerned at that point? >> no. it was rather scary to look at them. all the masks. but of course ambulances. >>his incident highligs a real conce whe in this day and age, anybody can be at another spot in the world in a matter of hours before public health officials have a chance to react. >> reporter: it was probably the flu, but they have to wait for final test results to come back. gio benitez, abc news, new york. >>> coming up in the next half hour, controversy over one guy's way of keeping kids off his lawn. >>> plus gwyneth paltrow's company pays up to settle claims over some rather interesting health products. company pays up to signature claims over some rather in

gio benitez, abc news, kitty hawk, north carolina. >> reporter: i'm steve osunsami.orities say they need to watch this nuclear power plant in north carolina and 15 other reactors in three states worried they could flood. >> this hurricane is bringing some rain and water that we have not seen before in hurricanes. >> reporter: at ft. bragg, they're filling sandbags and moving helicopters out of the water's way. >> leave as soon as possible. emergency services may not be able to respond in your time of need. >> reporter: fire trucks with loud speakers are rolling through neighborhoods in charleston that they worry could be flooded for days. duke energy says 3 million customers could be out of power for weeks. the cavalry of power line workers is already on the way. this is the historic district of charleston, the night life and entertainment district. as you can see, it is boarded up and sandbagged. there isn't going to be much night life here tonight. authorities are hoping that residents who are still here will leave now. steve osunsami, abc news, charleston. >> fasc

gio benitez, thank you. >> i know what i'm going to do.o to the beach with me so he can install the umbrella for me. >> i want everybody else to have the beach bub. i have been doing it wrong. i go in circles. >> you're just making the opening bigger. so it is easier to blow away. >> among many things i do wrong. >>> coming up -- he said it not me. how a man given up for adoption helped bring his birth parents back together decades later. the heartwarming story. get your kleenex ready. that story is coming up. later. the heartwarming story. get your kleenex ready. applicati-- kleenex ready. that's why we designed capital one cafes. you can get savings and checking accounts with no fees or minimums. and one of america's best savings rates. to top it off, you can open one from anywhere in 5 minutes. this isn't a typical bank. this is banking reimagined. what's in your wallet? you wouldn't accept an incomplete job from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase sensimist relieves your worst symptoms, including nasal congesti

abc's gio benitez is in nearby greenville with more. good morning, gio. >> reporter: adrienne and dan, good morning to you. we are on the tar river here in north carolina, one of the many rivers flooding this morning, and take a look behind me. that's a pier, and it's just underwater right now, but as you say, new bern seeing some of the worst flooding, and right now this morning, rescues are still under way. this morning, the coastal city of new bern, north carolina, finding itself under water following a ten-foot storm surge. >> it's hard not knowing that i'm going to have a house to go home to. >> reporter: ceilings caving in, windows blown out. leaving residents looking for help. the national guard and fema teams assisting city officials with rescue efforts, but the conditions posing a serious challenge leaving over 7,000 without power. >> this has been an undaunting task for our city officials. with the resources we had, we got them out there, we are calling for more resources. >> reporter: jackie mallard is one of those still trap

gio benitez, abc news, kitty hawk, north carolina. >> florence is the most menacing of the three tropicaltems in the atlantic. >> let's check in with accuweather's paul williams for the complete outlook. good morning, paul. >> good morning, stephanie, kendis. this is a devastating storm that is going to approach as a category 4. it will downgrade to a category 3 after the impact, but look at the impact it's going to have. damaging winds, isolated tornados. devastating storm surge. risk to life and property extreme for charlotte, raleigh, wilmington, even up towards roanoke. catastrophic flooding throughout raleigh going towards charlotte with a storm max of 40 inches. and the winds sustained at 110 miles per hour plus, that means up to 150 in some areas. isaac is going to march across antigua and barbuda. there is a development happening in the gulf for another low that could be a problem as well. back to you, kendis, stephanie. >> paul, thank you. >>> president trump is assuring the country that his administration is totally prepared for florence. as he warned residents about the threat

abc's gio benitez is here were the story.orter: so many people talking about this right now. the video has been seen and shared tens of thousands of times and now that driver is facing some serious charges in this really shocking case. >> okay. okay. first, what you got to do is put on the brake. there you go. >> reporter: what you are looking at is a child behind the wheel of a school bus thursday. the actual bus driver, a 27-year-old, apparently teaching her and two others how to drive it. >> it's all good. it's all good. i'm letting her stop at michael's stop. >> reporter: the children ages 11, 13 and 17. police say that joandrea mcatee allowed the three students to drive the bus in a rural area as they dropped kids off. >> can i do this every day? >> i'll let you know. >> reporter: by the time she showed up to pick up her next check, police were there waiting arresting her with neglect of a dependent. maddie and isabelle were not in the video, but they ride the bus often, and they said they were shocked she allowed two gi

abc's gio benitez is already there at an apple store here in new york with what to expect and how you. so sell us, gio, good morning. >> reporter: hey, robin, good morning. yeah, let's face it, these are expensive phones and tomorrow morning these stores are going to be packed with people getting those new iphones. so this morning, "gma" is trying to help you figure out what to do with that old one. >> the most advanced iphone we have ever created. >> reporter: apple recently unveiling three new iphones and some of its most impressive technology yet. >> it's the best camera we've ever shown before. >> reporter: on tuesday apple's ceo, tim cook, gave robin a preview of some of the upgrades. >> this is the memoji. >> reporter: going on sale in stores tomorrow, the new iphone xs, a faster phone with an extended battery life. and a larger version, the iphone xs max, with the biggest screen yet. and a third new model going on sale in october, a slightly less expensive iphone xr that comes in a range of six colors. but if you want one of these new toys, how can you try to get the most money

abc's gio benitez here with the story. good morning, gio. >> reporter: good morning.er was called a spectacular student athlete with an infectious smile and bubbly personality. but this morning, her family is coping with her death. and her alleged murderer is behind bars. she was a rising star who had just won a major college golf championship. >> it was huge. because like i always wanted to win a tournament for iowa state. >> reporter: but celia barquin arozamena's life was cut short. this morning, police arresting 22-year-old collin richards. >> we have charged him with murder in the first degree. >> reporter: the iowa state student was golfing by herself in ames monday morning when they found her golf bag unattended. >> they found her clubs. they don't know where she disappeared to. >> reporter: investigators finding her body in a nearby pond, stabbed several times. a police dog tracing a scent on her remains to richards who police say is homeless and was living in nearby woods. >> richards had several fresh scratches on his face consistent with a fight. and he was

our chief national affairs correspondent, gio benitez has more on that. >> reporter: good morning.was said that anyone who campaigns directly or indirectly for this seat while john mccain was fighting brain cancer, is automatically disqualified because of lack of character. that is doug ducey, naming john mccain's replacement. >> he is irreplaceable. >> reporter: he refused to mention any potential candidates until senator mccain was late to rest. by law, a republican by mccain has to be appointed. >> what would john mccain do in this situation? >> reporter: but the real question may be what would president trump do? politico reporting ducey following the senator's death, ducey needs the president's help in his own re-election bid come november, and president trump likely won't want a maverick like mccain who is likely to break with his party. mccain giving that thumbs down vote on the plan to repeal obamacare, which infuriated the president. some called for another to fill the seat, possibly cindy mccain, the late senator's wife. it may not be that easy because of the prickly rela

for a missing boy with autism, the 6-year-old last seen at a state park before vanishing and gio benitezith local police. they're desperately searching for that missing 6-year-old. his name is maddox ritch. you see him right there. again, he has autism. he doesn't speak. maddox was last seen in a gastonia, north carolina, park saturday afternoon, with his father and another adult and his parents say he started running. when they ran after him they lost sight of him. more than 100 authorities are now searching. you see them right there, 1400 acres by air, boat and on the ground. now, police in the park are also playing recordings with the voices of his parents hoping maddox hears them. overnight, the boy's father actually sent a statement to local tv station wccb saying he thanks everyone for helping search for maddox and that the family is trying to help the police in any way possible. if you know where maddox is please call police, no clue is too small, cecilia. >> so true. thank you. >> i hope they find him soon. >>> coming up, we have that health alert. rapper drake sidelined by the f

you see the surf is picking up from moments ago when we saw gio benitez there.ong also lots of wind, lots of rain, storm surge, all across the storm zone right now from hurricane florence made landfall in north carolina just moments ago. >> let's go back to david muir there in wilmington and, david, what are you seeing right now? >> reporter: incredible winds, robin. you can see them behind me and the rain just whipping around here, and i should mention that we have had a number of tweets from viewers, and we really, really appreciate them, so keep them coming, but we do want you to know that the entire crew that's here with me this morning, we are keeping everybody safe. in fact, there is what you can't see out of frame is a giant concrete wall of this hotel. it's built strong enough to sort of protect us from any kind of debris whipping around corners but it is a concern for us too but you can see the rain coming down, sheets of rain and this is going to last for hours, in fact, we're getting some of the staggering numbers already, just think about this. 30 in

we want to go to gio benitez who has been in the outer banks in kitty hawk or his shot right now in kitty hawk, north carolina, and you can see the sun is starting to come up there. it'll be sunrise at 6:45 but you can see from the shot the ocean, it is fairly angry up there in kitty hawk and that's well north of where the storm is right now or the heart of the storm is right now. >> yeah, we expect those waves to be tough all the way up and down the coast. by the way for people who are waking up with us this morning, the size of this storm if you took virginia, north carolina and south carolina stacked together that's the size of florence. >> wait. give me that again. >> virginia, north carolina, south carolina, you stack them together, that's the size of florence. >> we're talking hundreds of miles. >> covering several states. >> massive storm. >> one of the things also that i thought was of note is the eye itself is 50 miles across. now, gio is pointing out earlier people -- when it eventually comes ashore they might think it's safe and because it's going to take so long during that ey

that's where our gio benitez is this morning. and, gio, thank goodness it seems like people are taking these warnings seriously. >> reporter: yeah, robin. they really are. there are 245,000 people in this evacuation zone and i want to show you why these people, why officials want these people to get out right now. let's take our drone camera up in the air. you can see this is only one of two bridges getting in and out of the outer banks. so if you get stuck on one of these bridges during that storm, and you get that dangerous storm surge, that's a very bad situation. i want to show you some video from other parts of north carolina, because we're already seeing huge lines of cars evacuating in this state. traffic going back miles. over in south carolina we've seen a caravan of ambulances working to transport hospital patients to safety.te the dire that the state is actually reversing traffic on a number of major highways to make it easier for people to get out. here in the outer banks i have to tell you i've been here during a muc

it's virtually a ghost town and gio benitez is one of the few people remaining there. good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, there, robin. good morning to you. yeah, it's really amazing how many people got out of here days ago. now we're feeling those first wind gusts in kitty hawk, north carolina. so far, those waves are just getting bigger and bigger. it will soon be too late for people to get out. this morning some of the last visitors and residents are getting out of the outer banks before florence closes in. city officials warning them not to let their guard down and to get out now. but some are staying behind anyway. >> we're here. >> you're not leaving. >> no. not until we have to. >> reporter: kelly salisbury watched her neighbors pack up and leave. she's staying right on the water. are you at all worried about this storm? >> of course we're worried but we're watching the news every day and keeping track of it. see where it's going to hit. and what category it is. and if we feel the need, we'll go. but we're going to stay as long as we can. >> reporter: one of th